Scottish independence referendum debate viewers foiled by STV Player failure
Many viewers tuning in for the Independence Referendum debate between Alastair Darling and Scottish first minister, Alex Salmond, were left frustrated when the site was hit by problems as the TV debate began.
STV Player was the main route for anyone outside of Scotland to tune into the first and only TV debate between the two parties campaigning for and against independence for Scotland, but complaints began to appear on Twitter as soon as the programme began.
STV Player seems to be playing up!
— Herald Editor (@Herald_Editor) August 5, 2014
Can't get the STVplayer to work. Can't believe the debate is not being shown outside Scotland! This affects us all! #fail — SandyLindsay (@SandyLindsay) August 5, 2014
STV going to get absolute pelters - not just for premature demise of STV player, but for moderation and nutty decision to go to spin room.
— Niall Paterson (@skynewsniall) August 5, 2014
Even former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell voiced his complaints about the online service failure.
Stvplayer gone again just after Alistair Darling gave Alex a big whack 'I didn't vote for him and I'm stuck with him'. Chair doing good job — Alastair Campbell (@campbellclaret) August 5, 2014
In the end many viewers were sent to another streaming service, Zattoo instead to watch the programme.
Here's a link to the live feed for anyone still having trouble with the STV Player. (Thanks @BillyLasVegas) http://t.co/oSUsf7HNC4 #indyref
— Philip Larkin (@philiplarkin) August 5, 2014
A spokesperson for STV commented: "We are receiving an unprecedented demand for the live stream of the debate. We have made each section of the programme available for immediate catch up on our referendum site, scotlanddecides.com."
A poll conducted by YouGov on behalf of The Drum discovered that 70 per cent of Londeners wants to be able to watch the debate live.